16 April 2007
Statement by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academicand Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) on Visits ofInternational Delegations and Individuals to the OPTand Israel, 15 April 2007:
At a time when the international movement to isolateIsrael is gaining ground in response to the escalationof Israel's colonial and racist policies, werespectfully urge conscientious academics, artists andintellectuals from around the world, including thosewho visit the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT), to refrain from visiting Israel to participate in anyevent or encounter that is not explicitly dedicated toending Israel's illegal occupation and other forms ofoppression. Regardless of intentions, such visits onlycontribute to the prolongation of injustice bynormalizing and thereby legitimizing it, andinadvertently support Israel's efforts to appear as a"normal" participant in the "civilized" world ofscience, scholarship and art while at the same timepracticing a pernicious form of apartheid againstPalestinians.
Visits to the OPT by international supporters andadvocates of Palestinian rights have always beenviewed by Palestinians as a source of encouragementand inspiration. These gestures of solidarity are veryimportant to us; they help break down the walls ofisolation imposed by Israel and the global centers ofpower, and also demonstrate to Israel and the worldthat the Palestinians are not alone in their strugglefor freedom. However, a solidarity visit to the OPTshould not be used as an occasion to give lectures atIsraeli universities; organize performances, filmscreenings or exhibits in mainstream Israeli venues;collaborate in any way with Israeli artisticinstitutions; or participate in activities sponsoredor supported -- directly or indirectly -- by theIsraeli government or any of its agencies.
While many of our international supporters in theacademic, artistic and intellectual community haveheeded the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment,and sanctions (BDS) [1], supported by an overwhelmingmajority of Palestinian civil society, there may bethose who are still uncertain about the criteria usedto implement the boycott. We believe that relationswith Israeli institutions that have not explicitlycondemned occupation and oppression lend legitimacy tothese institutions. Such institutions include alluniversities and major research institutions, as wellas the vast majority of cultural and artisticorganizations in Israel.Palestinian calls for boycott of Israel -- until itfully complies with its obligations underinternational law -- are inspired by South Africananti-apartheid appeals of the not-so-distant past.
South African anti-apartheid leaders were among thefirst to expose the underlying common denominatorsbetween the two systems of racial discrimination, evenarguing that Israel's apartheid is in many ways worsethan the one that existed in South Africa, as UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in the OPT, Prof. John Dugard, has stated. Indeed, Israel's oppressionof the Palestinians is three-tiered: militaryoccupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including EastJerusalem, and the extensive colonization of thelatter; denial of the UN-sanctioned rights ofPalestinian refugees, including their right to return;and the system of racial discrimination againstPalestinian citizens of Israel. This underlines theneed for moral consistency from everyone who activelyparticipated in the struggle against South Africanapartheid; we ask them to apply the same standards andnot to make an exception for Israel.
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and CulturalBoycott of Israel was launched in Ramallah in April2004 by a group of Palestinian academics andintellectuals to join the growing internationalboycott movement.
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Boycott, Divestment & SanctionsEnd notes-
In July 2005, the first anniversary of theInternational Court of Justice's ruling on theillegality of the Wall and the occupation regime, more than 170 Palestinian civil society unions andorganizations issued the Call for BDS as a non-violentform of resisting Israel's oppression.
The Call issued by PACBI for academic and cultural boycott of Israelhas also received widespread support from federations of academics, professionals, writers and artists, and from civil society organizations in Palestine. See:
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